As Albus slept, he dreamed of stones. Thousands of round black stones, all lined up perfectly as far as the eye could see along the banks of a river, spreading out for about ten feet on either side. The river itself was a steely gray color and wound off into the distance. What was strange, thought Albus, was that the stones were speaking…whispering his name.
Albus saw something in the distance, gliding above the water. A dark, sinister shape, flying with alarming speed towards him….
–Albus.â€
Albus groaned, fighting desperately to stay within the dream.
–Albus!â€
Albus rolled over and clamped the pillow over his head.
–ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER!â€
Immediately, Albus was awake. –What the bloody--Rose, what are you doing in the boy’s dormitories?â€
–Finding you,†the redhead snapped. –You’ve overslept. Everyone else is in the Great Hall.â€
Albus swore and whipped off the covers. He clambered out of bed and began to rummage through his trunk. Rose obediently turned away as her cousin dressed and pulled on shoes and socks.
Together, the cousins exited the dormitory and made their way to the Great Hall. Ignoring the stares from students as the two latecomers entered, Albus and Rose made their way to the Gryffindor table. Rose sat down next to Rowan and Albus slid in next to Charlie.
–Where’ve you been, Al?†asked Charlie, swallowing a large bite of scrambled egg.
–Overslept,†muttered Albus, spreading butter over his toast. He was aware of Rowan staring at him, and wished that he had thought to comb his hair (which was already a nightmare, sticking up everywhere at the best of times).
Rose began piling bacon onto her plate. –Have we gotten our schedules yet?â€
–No,†said Rowan. –They haven’t been handed out yet.â€
–They’re being handed out right now,†pointed out Charlie, gesturing towards his father.
Halfway down the table, Albus heard James make a noise of protest. –HISTORY OF MAGIC FIRST?â€
–Calm down, mate!†said a boy next to him. –Extra time to sleep in.â€
Albus smirked and turned back to his toast, taking a large bite and washing it down with a gulp of pumpkin juice. He was thankful that, in some small way, James was receiving a sort of punishment. Albus’s father had warned him how boring History of Magic was, and even advised his children to bring a pillow (earning him a playful slap from his wife).
–Here you are, Potter,†said Professor Longbottom, handing Albus a cream-colored piece of parchment emblazoned with the Hogwarts Crest and written in scarlet ink. Albus scanned the schedule, eager to see his classes.
–Transfiguration first,†announced Rose. –My mum says it’s great. You’ll really like it, Rowan.â€
The Muggleborn smiled uncertainly, and pulled her wand out of her pocket to examine it. She muttered something under her breath and tucked it away again.
Albus suddenly felt a wave of panic. –My wand!†he cried. –I’ve left it in my dormitory--be right back!†he sped off towards the double doors at the end of the hall, sprinting up the stairs.
–Well,†said Rose. –Hopefully he’ll figure out that I grabbed it for him before he goes and makes an idiot of himself by being late.†She spun the wooden rod around between her fingers before tucking it in next to her own.
Charlie and Rowan exchanged glances and grinned.
Albus arrived at the portrait hole breathless, gasping for air. –Billywigs,†he panted.
–Hurry, dear,†said the Fat Lady in the portrait, glaring at him sternly. –You’ll be late.â€
Albus nodded and slipped through the portrait hole. He started across the common room--and stopped dead in his tracks.
A pale, blond figure was standing in front of the stairwell to the boys’ dormitories, eyeing Albus uncertainly.
–Hello, Scorpius,†said Albus, noticing with a start who was blocking his path. –I’ll just squeeze by and--–
–Where are you going, Potter?†There was no contempt in the boy’s voice, only uncertainty.
–I forgot something.â€
–Did you now?†Scorpius leaned back against the stair rail.
–Erm, yes,†said Albus, rushing past the Malfoy and into his dorm. He could not find his wand. He emptied the contents of his trunk onto his bed and began to frantically rummage through them. His wand was not there.
Panicking, Albus checked under his bed, inside his pillowcase, and in his wadded up pajamas on the floor. It wasn’t there. Groaning, Albus stood up and raked his hands through his already messy hair. With a strangled choking noise, he sat down on the floor. It was just his luck to lose his wand on his first day at Hogwarts.
–Well,†said a voice near the doorway. –You’re not happy, are you?â€
Albus looked up to see Scorpius Malfoy, leaning against the doorframe with raised eyebrows and a smirk. –No,†snapped Albus. –No, I’m not.â€
Scorpius did not seem to be affected by Albus’s sharp tone. –You’re looking for your wand, right?â€
Albus nodded.
–Well, your cousin has it. She picked it up for you when it fell out of your robes.â€
–Oh,†said Albus, not bothering to ask how Scorpius knew this. –Erm--thanks.â€
Scorpius nodded and began to leave.
–Wait,†Albus called. Scorpius turned around.
–What is it?â€
–Why weren’t you in the Great Hall for breakfast?â€
Scorpius hesitated. –I wasn’t hungry.â€
–Oh. Well, I’ll be heading off to class now.â€
–Right,†Scorpius said. –Um--mind if I walk with you?â€
Albus smiled, sensing the start of a friendship. –Sure.â€
Albus and Scorpius were seated seconds before the bell rang.
Albus turned to Rose and held out his hand. –Wand.â€
Rose handed it to him. –I meant to give it to you earlier, but I forgot until you started shrieking and rushed off.
Charlie snorted. –Smooth, Al.â€
Albus rolled his eyes. –You know--–
Suddenly, the door burst open and a tall man dressed in deep blue robes and silvery hair walked in and seated himself at the large mahogany desk in the front of the classroom. –Good morning, I am Professor Crawford. I will be teaching you Transfiguration. Please take your wands out as I call roll.â€
Albus pulled out his wand and glanced around the room. The Gryffindors shared this class with the Hufflepuffs, much to Albus’s relief--he had heard from his brother that Slytherin classes were nothing to look forward to. Suddenly, Rose poked him with her quill. –Say you’re here!†she whispered.
–Oh,†said Albus, realizing that Professor Crawford had been calling his name. –Here.â€
–Thank you, Mr. Potter. Bethat Saran?â€
–Here,†called a bespectacled Hufflepuff boy.
A few minutes later, Professor Crawford put away the roll sheet and stood up. –Transfiguration,†he said in loud, clear tones, –is the art of transforming. It branches out throughout the tree that is magic, and connects itself to many of the finer magical arts--Animagus transformations, for example, which we will be learning about later on.â€
Albus glanced over at Rose, wondering if she would just head straight to the library after class to research Animagi on her own.
A good ten minutes later, they were assigned their first task: turning matchsticks into needles.
– Acica Agentus !†Albus muttered, waving his wand experimentally at the matchstick. Nothing happened.
Charlie waved his wand. – Acica Agentus.†Suddenly, to the horror of those around him, the matchstick burst into flame. Rose squealed and jumped out of her seat. Rowan turned deathly pale, and Scorpius fell out of his chair.
–Aguamenti!†cried Professor Crawford, a stream of water issuing out of the tip of his wand. The fire disappeared, leaving a rather soggy matchstick in its place. The professor turned to Charlie, a stern look on his face. –Mr. Longbottom, you must say the incantation first then perform the wand movement. Try again.†The teacher placed a new matchstick on Charlie’s desk and walked away.
–Well,†said Rowan, blinking. –That was--eventful.â€
Albus laughed.
Albus slid onto one of the benches at the Gryffindor table and sat down, greedily shoveling a huge portion of fish and chips onto his plate. –Thank God for lunch,†he muttered, taking a sip of water from his goblet.
–Amen to that,†said Rowan, smirking as she slid in across from Albus.
–There is never a time when lunch is not welcome, except for maybe breakfast and dinner,†Charlie said happily.
–And dessert,†Rose piped up, gulping down a swig of pumpkin juice.
Albus chuckled at he took a bite of fish. The fried coating crackled pleasantly in his mouth before giving way to the moist, tender meat inside.
–Okay, so what do we have next?â€
–Well, so far we’ve had Transfiguration and History of Magic, so--– Rose paused to take out her timetable.
–Potions next,†said Scorpius, beating her to it as he consulted the schedule. Rose pursed her lips and tucked her schedule back into her bag.
Albus slid onto one of the benches at the Gryffindor table and sat down, greedily shoveling a huge portion of fish and chips onto his plate. –Thank God for lunch,†he muttered, taking a sip of water from his goblet.
–Amen to that,†said Rowan, smirking as she slid in across from Albus.
–There is never a time when lunch is not welcome, except for maybe breakfast and dinner,†Charlie said happily.
–And dessert,†Rose piped up, gulping down a swig of pumpkin juice.
Albus chuckled at he took a bite of fish. The fried coating crackled pleasantly in his mouth before giving way to the moist, tender meat inside.
–Okay, so what do we have next?â€
–Well, so far we’ve hat Transfiguration and Herbology, so--– Rose paused to take out her timetable.
–Potions next,†said Scorpius, beating her to it as he consulted the schedule. –With the Slytherins.â€
Rose pursed her lips in distaste at the combination of –Potions†and –Slytherins†as she tucked her schedule back into her bag. Rowan quirked an eyebrow.
Albus sighed. –Oh, happy day.â€
The dungeons were cold. Very cold. Albus shivered, gazing around the dimly lit classroom.
The Slytherins, however, did not seem to mind. They were all chattering excitedly. One blond girl with emerald green highlights laughed at a joke told by Thaddeus Zabini, a tall dark-skinned boy with amber colored eyes. The group looked like a rather nasty bunch to Albus, but perhaps that was just his imagination.
Next to Albus, Scorpius kept glancing over at the members of the other house out of the corner of his eye. Perhaps he was wondering what it would have been like had he been sitting with them, sharing their jokes and laughing along with them. Albus felt an odd sensation of both sympathy and annoyance.
Suddenly, the door banged open and a tall, unpleasant looking man with dark brown hair and eerie gray eyes strolled briskly in. Albus could not help but wonder if all teachers did this.
–Wands away, quills out,†snapped the man. –We will be taking notes today. I said quills out, Longbottom!â€
Charlie, looking terrified, pulled out a quill and a bottle of ink. Rowan, next to him, was regarding the teacher with a raised eyebrow and doubtful look on her face.
–I am Professor MacDougal,†said the Professor briskly. –And you will refer to me as such. Anyone who does not show me respect and anyone who fails to obey orders will be punished.†The last three words were emphasized clearly. –Are there any questions? No? Good.â€
After Professor MacDougal called roll, the class was instructed to copy notes off of the blackboard in the front of the room. As Albus dipped his quill in his ink bottle, he decided that he was not going to enjoy potions class.